Kwara state Deputy Governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi on Friday flagged off the 2023 Measles and Immunization campaign for under- five children in the state, with the government pledging to ensure that the exercise covers the vast majority of the target group.
Measles Campaign and routine Immunization will be held in the state between 26th October and 1st November, 2023.
At the flag-off ceremony in Ilorin, the Deputy Governor, who is also the Chairman of the State Task Force on Immunization, Mr. Kayode Alabi, said the vaccine has been allocated to various healthcare centres in the 16 local governments in the state for proper administration.
‘As a responsible government, the Kwara state Government through the State Primary HealthCare Development Agency will do everything within its power to ensure that the vaccine reaches every eligible child within the shortest possible period of time.
I am aware that the vaccine has been distributed across all health facilities in the 16 local governments to administer it on all eligible children. I implore all mothers and caregivers to avail their children of this golden opportunity to prevent untimely deaths through vaccine preventable diseases by making them available for routine immunization outreach’ he said.
Alabi, who noted that measles is one of the leading causes of illnesses and deaths among under-five children, added that the campaign marks another milestone in the lifesaving intervention of the government to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality.
He commended the leadership and staff of the agency for being resilient and committed to making essential health services available in all nooks and crannies of Kwara.
‘As the Chairman of the State Taskforce on Immunization and PHC, I am proud of your achievements and the feats you have attained in all your immunization campaigns this year including coming out as the best in Primary HealthCare leadership challenge in the whole North Central zone. I remain committed to ensuring support and an enabling environment to deliver on your mandate’ he added.
A statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com noted that the event was attended by the Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Salihu Danladi; Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Ahmed El-Imam; Alhaji Ganiyu Atere, who represented Commissioner of Communications ,Bola Olukoju ; Executive Secretary state Primary HealthCare Development Agency, Dr Nusirat Elelu; Executive Secretary Kwara State Health Insurance Agency, Dr. Olubunmi Jetawo-Winter; Executive Secretary State Hospital Management Board ,Dr. AbdulRaheem Malik; Emir of Shonga Dr. Haliru Yahaya; representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund United (UNICEF), National Primary HealthCare Development Authority (NPHCDA), and African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET); Magaji Fate Alhaji Mumini Ayoku; Alangua Tanke, Alhaji Umaru Salaudeen; among other dignitaries.
Also speaking, Rt. Hon. Danladi, who urged all key stakeholders including traditional rulers and religious leaders to give the exercise the needed support to succeed, commended the government for its huge investments in the health sector and how it has shown commitment to encouraging healthy citizenry, while appreciating Dr. Nusirat Elelu and development partners for their high spirits in the implementation of various health programmes in the state.
Commissioner for Health , Dr Amina Ahmed El-Imam, implored Kwara residents to ignore the disinformation making the rounds to discredit the exercise and deter their innocent children from accessing the vaccine, affirming that the vaccine is safe for use.
‘I appeal to you all not to allow rumours and disinformation about the efficacy of vaccines deter you from accessing the important health intervention on behalf of our precious children. The vaccines have been confirmed to be safe by relevant authorities at many levels and using many methods and practices’ she said.
The commissioner also praised the efforts of Governor AbdulRazaq in making quality healthcare services accessible and affordable for the citizens.
Dr. Elelu, in her welcome address, said measles is one of the highly infectious diseases that largely affect under-five children, who missed their vaccination in the first year of life, calling on people to take advantage of the exercise.
She said statistics have proven that the use of the measles vaccine is safe and effective, given a significant reduction in the deaths caused by measles.
‘Available data has shown that the use of the measles vaccine has resulted in over 84% reduction in measles death. A single dose of measles vaccine taken in the first 9 months is not enough to attain the minimum 95% immunity required of a child to be fully protected’ she submitted while thanking the government for giving public health safety a priority.
‘Our most sincere gratitude to Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for the ownership and exemplary leadership in the health space. We cannot but appreciate the Chairman of the State Taskforce on Immunization, the Deputy Governor, Mr. Kayode Alabi for his unwavering support and commitment she added-Team@orientactualmags.com
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